Not a weekend warrior
to be found in the joint as The Sex
Slaves, Ex-Lion Tamer, and Grime Time played the Bug Jar last
Thursday night for the faithful.
NYC-by-way-of-Israel
outfit Ex-Lion Tamer plays disjointed, uncomfortable music that sounded like a
fractured interpretation of what perhaps they originally intended it to be.
“OK, here’s a tune, here’s the hook, the beginning, the middle, the end, now
let’s screw it up.” It was like looking at a beautiful vase shattered in pieces
on the floor. A loud vase.
Rochester’s Grime
Time followed, hollering about Gringos. They were fantastic and seemed to be
fully wrapped up in what will later come to be known as their smart-ass phase.
This three-piece is cocky and energetic and on the verge of getting really
good. They were fast and almost tight. They’re almost to the intersection where
talent collides with heart.
And
this is really all I ever wanted out of rock music. It’s getting harder and
harder to preach positive and describe (without repeating myself) what these
bands are doing. Bands like Grime Time are the reason I still enjoy writing
about music… and diggin’ it live.
East Village
leather-clad Lotharios The Sex Slaves closed the ceremony with Stoogy slop and
a Bon Jovi shot to the heart. As gross as that may sound, it was pretty cool.
The band looked grimy and mean as if they’d stepped off the set of The Warriors as they stepped onto the
stage to play-yay in front of their custom made, spinner-hubcap encrusted back
line. A few borderline hecklers were converted when The Slaves whipped out some
Misfits. Just a reminder kids: A one-man mosh pit is just a tantrum.
Flew to the Rotten
Apple over the weekend and shared the flight down with jazz violinist Billy
Bang. We talked at length about his new collaboration with Garth Fagan and how
it feels to see his jazz interpretation of Vietnam fleshed out on the dance
stage. Bang’s comin’ back, baby. He says he’ll be here for the Rochester
International Jazz Fest 2006. Can’t wait….
This article appears in Nov 2-8, 2005.
